Early Ratings: Super Rout a Turnoff
The San Francisco 49ers’ trouncing of the Denver Broncos on Sunday could be one of the lowest-rated Super Bowls in television history if preliminary ratings are any indication.
The game averaged a 38.9 rating in 23 cities, A.C. Nielsen Co. audience estimates showed on Monday.
Michael Eisenberg, a CBS vice president for research, said his network anticipated the ratings to rise to 40 when national estimates are available today. Each national ratings point represents 921,000 homes.
However, if the national ratings don’t appreciably rise from the 23-city “overnight” figures, Sunday’s contest could be the lowest-rated Super Bowl since 1971, when Baltimore beat Dallas, 16-13.
That game averaged a 39.9 national rating. It was broadcast when each national ratings point represented 601,000 homes.
Last year’s San Francisco-Cincinnati Super Bowl, won by the 49ers, 20-16, was seen in nearly 40 million homes, according to Nielsen estimates.
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